Type 2 Diabetes and Mashed Potatoes – How To Make a Favorite Comfort Food More Diabetes-Friendly!

There is no single food that causes more falls in diabetes control than mashed potatoes. Potatoes. a high-glycemic form of carbohydrate is said to increase insulin resistance and the risk of type 2 diabetes. Potatoes of all kinds, a popular Thanksgiving side dish, can spike blood sugar levels, but there are three things you can do to minimize or even eliminate the damage.

1. Just say no to Instant: When nutrition researchers measured the glycemic index of instant mashed potatoes, they found that the instant mashers raised blood sugar levels even faster than eating glucose tablets. That seems a little unlikely until you consider what’s really in instant potatoes.

There are all kinds of additives, flavorings, and stabilizers to keep the flakes from banging together in the box. When these chemical additives enter your system, you have an immediate reaction.

Without getting into the chemistry, this may be a “fast” allergic reaction or a slower immune response, but both cause your adrenal glands to release cortisol, which in turn causes blood sugar levels to spike. Simply peeling, boiling and mashing potatoes makes their effects on glucose control much easier to manage. Instant has a glycemic index of around 110. Cooked redfish has a glycemic index of around 78.

2. Don’t eat them piping hot: Another factor that is overlooked when choosing foods to keep blood sugar levels as close to normal as possible is heat. Hot foods…although not boiling hot…digest faster than warm or room temperature foods. If you simply let your food cool before eating it, your body will digest it more slowly and your pancreas will have more time to release the insulin needed to get the digested sugar where it needs to go. You can still get your blood sugar out of control by eating too many cold carbohydrates, but other things being equal, hot or cold food is better than hot food for diabetics.

3. Try Cauliflower: If you cut off the green leaves before cooking, cooked cauliflower will be the same color as cooked potatoes. If you add an unshelled walnut to the water with the cauliflower during cooking, the walnut will absorb the “cabbage” flavor and the result will taste like potatoes. If you drain the cauliflower thoroughly in a colander before mashing, taking out every last drop of the cooking liquid, you will have the same consistency as mashed potatoes. But you have 80 percent fewer carbohydrates.

Thanks to Beverleigh H Piepers